Muslim and Christian Contact in the Middle Ages: A Reader ed. by Jarbel Rodriguez (review)

Jarbel Rodriguez has here compiled eighty-nine sources illustrative of Muslim–Christian interaction (some exchanges between Muslims and Jews have also been included) between the early seventh and the late fifteenth centuries. The sources are all presented in English: some are previously published translations or Rodriguez’s revisions of them, while others have been translated by Rodriguez himself. The subject matter of these sources ranges widely: literary, historical, scientific, annalistic, hagiographical, travel, legal, and theological sources are all represented; geographically, they cover the Holy Land, the Byzantine Empire, Syria, Sicily, Charlemagne’s territories, Spain (Iberia and northern Spain), France, Persia, and Turkey. An Introduction sets the scene with a brief history of common origin of the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic religions and the book is completed by lists of primary sources and figures and an index.

Rodriguez has arranged his material into ten chapters, which are further subdivided into between seven and eleven subject headings. Each subject is accompanied by a short introduction placing the source(s) in historical context, explaining unfamiliar historical words, noting the original source reference(s), and occasionally referring to other useful sources. Chapter 1 gives some historical background to Islamic/Christian contacts. Chapters 2 and 3 review political and military history, firstly in the Eastern Mediterranean/Holy Land and secondly in Spain and the Western Mediterranean. Chapters 4 to 10 look at interactions thematically: diplomacy and alliances; economic relations; religious interactions; views of the ‘Other’; minority communities; intellectual contacts; and the thought-provoking theme, ‘Of Love and Bondage’.

Unfortunately, the supporting lists and the index present some difficulties. The bibliography of primary sources seems incomplete, with Davis, Grant, Sage, Bernaldez, and Forster (referenced at pp. 31, 34, 44, 191, and 197, respectively), for instance, omitted, and the List of Figures is missing the titles of four of the illustrations (figs 1.1, 6.1, 7.1, and 8.1). The short, two-page index leaves out many potentially useful references, the definitions of many specialist terms can only be found by searching the text, and the heavily abbreviated references at the end of each subject introduction need careful examination if the reader wishes to follow up on them.

Nevertheless, this is a wonderful collection. Rodriguez has investigated and collated a wide range of sources not normally brought together and his subject introductions are succinct and historically enlightening. Most importantly, the sources themselves are well chosen, successfully, and sometimes delightfully, illustrating the understandings and misunderstandings that people of these diverse social and religious groups held about each other.

With a good deal of subtlety and scholarliness, Rodriguez has produced a book that entertainingly, clearly, comprehensively, and eruditely presents the complexities of Muslim–Christian interactions in the Middle Ages. The clarity of Rodriguez’s translations and his thoughtful inclusions make this an essential reference work for all those interested in the subject, and highly suitable as an undergraduate textbook.